Users of personal digital assistants (PDAs) often desire to have their email messages or other notifications forwarded from their corporate email account to their PDA. FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate two typical mechanisms for redirecting notifications to a PDA. Both solutions include a “redirector” application that resides behind a corporate firewall and pushes email messages from an email server to a wireless user device. Examples of commercially available redirector applications include Symmetry Pro™, available from Infowave Corporation of Burnaby, British Columbia and BlackBerry™, available from Research in Motion (RIM) of Waterloo, Ontario.
Referring to FIG. 1A, a user's desktop computer 125 is in communication with an email server or exchange server 100 via a corporate network such as a virtual private network (VPN) 110. Desktop computer 125 is also in communication with a cradle 130. Email server 100 includes a redirector application 105 that is configured to forward notifications directed to a user's desktop computer 125 to the user's PDA 120 through firewall 115 and via remote email directory 185.
Unfortunately, this solution typically requires the assistance of a corporation's information technology (IT) manager to install the redirector application in the corporate network. Oftentimes, the IT manager may not be able to justify the configuration effort and the expense required to implement the solution.
Another solution places a redirector application on a user's desktop computer. This is illustrated in FIG. 1B. As shown in FIG. 1B, a user's desktop computer 170 is in communication with an email server or exchange server 155 via a corporate network such as a virtual private network (VPN) 160. Desktop computer 170 is also in communication with a cradle 175. Desktop computer 170 includes a redirector application 180 that is configured to log into email server 155 and forward notifications directed to a user's desktop computer 170 to the user's PDA 150 through firewall 165 and via remote email server 190.
Unfortunately, mobile professionals typically use a laptop or mobile computer as their desktop computer and they typically take their computers with them when traveling, leaving nothing behind the corporate firewall to forward notifications to a PDA.
Accordingly, a need exists in the prior art for mechanism that allows notifications to be forwarded from a corporate network to a users' wireless user device that does not require reconfiguring an email server or a user's desktop computer. A further need exists for such a solution that allows a wireless user device such as a PDA to transparently connect to a corporate network, without visibility by a VPN. Yet another need exists for such a solution that is relatively simple to configure and maintain.